Opinion

Friday, Aug. 1, 1997

OBSERVATIONS

Washington, D.C. offers
many interesting sites

Return to topI'm going to write about my vacation one more time and then, I promise,
I'll move on to other subjects.

But as I mentioned several weeks ago, I wanted to write about
Washington, D.C. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to go
our nation's capitol.

Sen. Phil Gramm and his staff helped me get access to the capitol and
White House, although it can be done by standing in line and getting
tickets at other places. Generally speaking the capitol building is
easily accessible without tickets.

One of the most important things I can mention about the capitol is that
everything is BIG. If and when you go, take walking shoes and try to
have as much time as possible although it is difficult to absorb
everything that is available.

All government buildings are free as we - the taxpayers - have already
paid for them and that makes it nice. I'm sure it would be better to go
in the spring or fall when there aren't as many people taking vacations
as in the summer.

Winter can be a pretty rough experience in Washington although I did go
there right after Christmas in 1986 and didn't have any problem. (Thank
goodness my brother did all the driving).

One of the main attractions in Washington includes the Smithsonian
Institute and its vast number of museums. The most popular is the Air &
Space Museum which is so big that airplanes and rockets are dwarfed
inside the structure.

The Museum of Natural History and the one of American History are great.
A museum of Native Americans is being planned and there are art museums
that are fantastic and the list goes on and on.

Then there are all the memorials which have special significance
including the Lincoln Memorial which really makes you stop and think
about our history. The Vietnam Wall is touching and a new one, the
Korean Conflict memorial really struck home with me.

I served in Korea 10 years after the war was over and it is obvious why
this conflict was so difficult. (It was never officially declared a war
although it was a war with a capital "W" from start to finish.) The
terrain in Korea is difficult and so is the weather and then the hordes
of Chinese got involved.

I don't know if I ever realized it or not but by comparing the Vietnam
and Korean memorials it dawned on me that Korea got a lot less publicity
than Vietnam. Did you know that between 1950 and 1953, the U.S. lost
more than 54,000 soldiers in Korea and that some 8,800 are still listed
as missing? The United Nations lost more than 600,000 soldiers.

In Vietnam, a conflict that lasted 16 years, the U.S. lost 58,000 plus
and there are now 2,200 plus missing. Does that paint a picture of how
difficult the war in Korea was and how devastating our losses were?

There were many things I just didn't have time to see and hopefully,
I'll get to go back at a later date.

One of the highlights of our visit was watching July 4th fireworks on
The Mall with the Washington monument as a backdrop. Absolutely
fantastic!

Two other things I should mention are Arlington National Cemetery which
has two recently added memorials that I hadn't seen - one to the
astronauts and the teacher lost in the Challenger explosion and one to
the men killed in the foiled rescue attempt in Iran.

I also had an opportunity to visit Mt. Vernon, President George
Washington's home on the Potomac, and it is well worth the time. I could
have spent much longer there.

Anyone planning a visit to D.C. should get familiar with their Metro
(subway) system as it is the only way to go.

Editor's Note: Mac McKinnon is editor and publisher of the Pecos Enterprise. His column appears on Friday.

Opinion
Friday, Aug. 1, 1997

OBSERVATIONS
By
Mac McKinnon
Washington, D.C. offers
many interesting sites
I'm going to write about my vacation one more time and then, I promise,
I'll move on to other subjects.

But as I mentioned several weeks ago, I wanted to write about
Washington, D.C. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to go
our nation's capitol.

Sen. Phil Gramm and his staff helped me get access to the capitol and
White House, although it can be done by standing in line and getting
tickets at other places. Generally speaking the capitol building is
easily accessible without tickets.

One of the most important things I can mention about the capitol is that
everything is BIG. If and when you go, take walking shoes and try to
have as much time as possible although it is difficult to absorb
everything that is available.

All government buildings are free as we - the taxpayers - have already
paid for them and that makes it nice. I'm sure it would be better to go
in the spring or fall when there aren't as many people taking vacations
as in the summer.

Winter can be a pretty rough experience in Washington although I did go
there right after Christmas in 1986 and didn't have any problem. (Thank
goodness my brother did all the driving).

One of the main attractions in Washington includes the Smithsonian
Institute and its vast number of museums. The most popular is the Air &
Space Museum which is so big that airplanes and rockets are dwarfed
inside the structure.

The Museum of Natural History and the one of American History are great.
A museum of Native Americans is being planned and there are art museums
that are fantastic and the list goes on and on.

Then there are all the memorials which have special significance
including the Lincoln Memorial which really makes you stop and think
about our history. The Vietnam Wall is touching and a new one, the
Korean Conflict memorial really struck home with me.

I served in Korea 10 years after the war was over and it is obvious why
this conflict was so difficult. (It was never officially declared a war
although it was a war with a capital "W" from start to finish.) The
terrain in Korea is difficult and so is the weather and then the hordes
of Chinese got involved.

I don't know if I ever realized it or not but by comparing the Vietnam
and Korean memorials it dawned on me that Korea got a lot less publicity
than Vietnam. Did you know that between 1950 and 1953, the U.S. lost
more than 54,000 soldiers in Korea and that some 8,800 are still listed
as missing? The United Nations lost more than 600,000 soldiers.

In Vietnam, a conflict that lasted 16 years, the U.S. lost 58,000 plus
and there are now 2,200 plus missing. Does that paint a picture of how
difficult the war in Korea was and how devastating our losses were?

There were many things I just didn't have time to see and hopefully,
I'll get to go back at a later date.

One of the highlights of our visit was watching July 4th fireworks on
The Mall with the Washington monument as a backdrop. Absolutely
fantastic!

Two other things I should mention are Arlington National Cemetery which
has two recently added memorials that I hadn't seen - one to the
astronauts and the teacher lost in the Challenger explosion and one to
the men killed in the foiled rescue attempt in Iran.

I also had an opportunity to visit Mt. Vernon, President George
Washington's home on the Potomac, and it is well worth the time. I could
have spent much longer there.

Anyone planning a visit to D.C. should get familiar with their Metro
(subway) system as it is the only way to go.

Mac McKinnon is editor and publisher of the Pecos Enterprise. His column
appears on Friday.

Pecos EnterpriseMac McKinnon, PublisherDivision of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321e-mail: news@pecos.netAssociated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.